1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a substrate terminal that is soldered to an electronic circuit substrate (hereinafter, referred to as a “substrate”) has been known. The substrate terminal has one or a plurality of substrate connection portion(s). The substrate connection portion is inserted into a corresponding hole portion on the substrate and is soldered together with a land on a peripheral edge of the hole portion (through-hole). In this manner, the substrate terminal is fixed to the substrate. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-66122, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-95629, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-272737, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-270263, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-319716 disclose substrate terminals. Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-319716 discloses a substrate terminal that is freely detachable from a substrate and the configuration of a substrate connection portion that does not need soldering.
When an opposite-side terminal is connected to the substrate terminal, pressing force from the opposite-side terminal acts on the substrate terminal with an insertion operation of the opposite-side terminal into the substrate terminal. Depending on usage modes, the opposite-side terminal is detached from the substrate terminal in some cases. When the opposite-side terminal is detached, tensile force in the detachment direction acts on the substrate terminal from the opposite-side terminal. For example, in the substrate terminals as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-66122 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-95629, a solder portion between the substrate connection portion and the hole portion in the substrate receives the pressing force and the tensile force. In the substrate terminal as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-272737, a resin housing to which the substrate terminal is fixed once receives the pressing force and the tensile force from the opposite-side terminal but there is a possibility that the resin housing is not strong enough to support the pressing force and the tensile force and a solder portion receives them. Thus, the conventional substrate terminals have a risk that an electric connection state between the substrate terminal and a wiring of the substrate is deteriorated because load on the solder portion of the substrate terminal is large in attachment and detachment between the terminals. The substrate terminal as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-270263 is molded into a crank form and an intermediate portion opposing the surface of the substrate is provided between the substrate connection portion and a terminal connection portion with the opposite-side terminal. In the substrate terminal, the intermediate portion is held between two plates made of resin. The substrate terminal reduces load on a solder portion in attachment and detachment between the terminals with the configuration in which one plate receives the pressing force when the opposite-side terminal is inserted and the other plate receives the tensile force when the opposite-side terminal is detached. The substrate terminal, however, needs the plates separately. This possibly results in increase of the substrate with the terminal in size and weight and increase in cost with increase in the number of parts.